ANOTHER TIME, ANOTHER EARTH
"Well, here we are," Tokio Ooshima said as he and Sayuri stopped in the nearly-empty lobby of the latter's dormitory. They had just been out on a date, and it had been a hectic night of club-hopping and dancing, plus a short walk in Meriken Park and a ride on the Ferris wheel, animatedly talking and taking in the sights of Kobe's port area.
"Thank you, Tokio-kun," said the brown-haired young lady with the round eyeglasses. "I had a nice time."
"Yeah, me too. Thanks for helping me with my... father."
"I was glad to be of service." Sayuri smiled impishly at him. "Of course, I'll want a reward..." She closed her eyes and tilted her face upwards.
"Sayuri-chan, I..." Tokio bit his lips and opted to kiss her gently on the cheek. At the touch Sayuri opened her eyes.
"Tokio..."
"I'm sorry. I know you deserve more than that, but I'm... confused." Tokio sighed heavily. "I can't—"
Sayuri shushed him by grabbing the lapels of his dark leather jacket and planting her lips full on his mouth. Tokio reflexively brought his hands up to her shoulders to push her away, but stopped himself and let her kiss him for as long as she liked.
She broke the kiss off, and her gaze lingered momentarily on Tokio's lips, then transferred itself to his eyes. "After this long," she whispered, "you still don't know your own heart... un-chan, if you ever need me, you know where to find me." She flashed him a smile, did a quick about-face, and walked hurriedly to one of the nearby corridors, disappearing down it as she went to her room to cry.
With infinite sadness in his heart Tokio watched her go. Un-chan. Derogatory for some, the term was a private joke, something shared only between them. No one else called him that, not even Juna. He stood still for a long while, moving only to push his half-round red sunglasses up the bridge of his nose. The quiet, mellifluous strains of popular Maaya Sakamoto's Kuuki to Hoshi drifted in from the hidden PA speakers in the vicinity. Poor Sayuri. She'd been so helpful and supportive as Tokio sought to mend fences with his father. It had been the hardest thing he had ever done, but she was there, not asking for much in return—until now. She didn't deserve this, he thought bitterly. She really didn't. And what did that make him? He didn't want to dwell on the answer, but somewhere in there were the words 'manipulative shithead.'
The Docomo cellphone in his pants pocket buzzed. He dug it out and flipped it open. The Maaya Sakamoto song was suddenly cut off at the same moment with a hissing crackle, and a news bulletin, delivered in a swift male voice, began to replace it. Tokio read the message on the screen. It was from his mother, telling him to get back home on the double. The reason why was given after it, and for a moment the unreality of the situation prevented him from comprehending things.
A nuclear bomb had just exploded some miles offshore from the Japanese capital.
Tokio reread the message, unbelieving. Wasn't Juna in Tokyo with Katsunari and her boyfriend? According to her mother she still hadn't returned from vacation. He grimaced and ran out the dormitory, hopped onto his motorbike and put on his helmet. He started the machine and summarily sped off, the loose ends of his blond hair fluttering in the wind as he headed for the apartment block were Juna lived with her mother and sister. The full moon was out tonight, hovering above his chosen road like a beacon showing him the way he must travel.
------oOo------
Juna Ariyoshi slowly woke up to a see a green jungle canopy above her. The sun-gilt leaves fluttered, and the wind made a gentle surussus as it passed through the tree branches, as if whispering to her welcome, welcome. She felt warm and comforted, despite the thousand questions flitting through her mind.
"Oh," she moaned as she tried to move. Her body ached something fierce in a thousand places. She looked down to see herself wearing her shredded aura suit. Or at least, a teensy-weensy part of it. She was virtually naked; almost nothing of the suit was left, just pink strips and patches here and there. Her exposed skin was red, as if she had been sunburnt.
She shook her head. Why was she still hearing that Arkan song of Ka-chan's? She no longer had the iPod. The last thing she remembered was the bomb's counter ticking down the final three seconds, and her body spontaneously turning into Arjuna as she, terrified, said her last farewell to the Princess of the Valley of Wind. Then the whole world exploded into a blinding white nova. There was a sense of fear, of sadness, regret, tearing pain, and longing... then nothing. Nothing until she woke up here.
She focused her vision and took in her surroundings. She found herself lying alone in a shallow pool about fifteen meters in diameter, her upper back and head propped up against an ancient-looking structure resembling a gigantic needle with unreadable markings. The pool was as still as liquid glass and the surrounding jungle, aside from the wind, seemed hushed and quiet.
Juna started a little as she saw, standing at the perimeter of the pool, a young woman with long, straight black hair. Her oval face was framed by the cloth headband in her hair, and she wore a loose cream-colored shift with dark-banded sleeves and hem, with a standing collar decorated by alternating purple and violet triangles. She bore a wing-bladed staff in one hand. A golden medallion in the shape of a stylized bird with one staring eye hung from her neck. She was looking intently at her.
"Who are you?" the Avatar managed to stammer across the water. Somehow it seemed sacrilegious, disturbing the silence like that with her voice.
"I am the hand guided by the wind," answered the strange girl as she waded into the pool and helped Juna up. "I am the keeper of my people's lore. My name is Sara Nome."
Juna found herself somewhat surprised she could understand the woman's speech. Her dusky features and tribal dress reminded her of one of her anthro classes in college, the one with the strict bald-headed professor and the difficult paper. The Effects And Ramifications Of An Expanding Technological Civilization On Isolated Ancient Cultures: An Overview And Opinion, she had entitled it. She had put her best effort into that work, but had received a lower-than-expected mark for it, simply because her world view clashed with that of her teacher's.
College. That life seemed so far away now, and for a moment the Avatar felt a rush of longing to return to it. It was safe and small. And it had her friends in it.
"I'm Juna Ariyoshi," the Avatar introduced herself. She offered her hand in friendship, and after a moment of careful consideration Sara clasped it in her own. The woman's grasp was firm enough to convince her she really wasn't dead. "Where am I? Is this Heaven?"
Sara's eyebrows went up. "Heaven? I don't know what you're talking about. If you're dead, then so am I. You're on Mayan Island. This place is my home. I was taking a swim in this very pool when you suddenly fell out of the sky and almost landed on my head." Her eyes narrowed. "Are you a tori no hito?"
Bird-person? Juna thought in confusion. She had only heard that term used in reference to Nausicaä. Brave, selfless Nausicaä, who was no longer with her. For a heartbeat she wondered where the Princess was.
"I am not," she answered. "I don't even know how I got here."
"A powerful spirit protected you and sent you here," Sara replied self-assuredly. "It has instructed me to help you get back home."
Hope appearing out of nothingness sent Juna's heart soaring. "You can do that?"
"Yes, but you must help me."
"I'm not sure I can, Sara," said Juna, feeling herself empty of the Avatar's power.
The other girl chuckled. "After what you've been through, I'm sure you can't help me now. Judging by your looks, you need a lot of rest before I can send you back home. Come with me to my village. You may stay in my house until you're well enough. Oh, and before I forget..." The woman reached behind her with her free hand and brought out a parcel of folded cloth. "Here. I was going to wear this, but you might want to use it yourself. As it is, you're too indecent for me to bring you to the village."
Juna looked down at the vast expanse of skin showing through the pink slivers of her torn aura suit, accepted the parcel and gulped as Sara continued to stand there, watching her attentively. She blushed and covered her nakedness with the package. "Umm..."
"What? Oh, I'm sorry!" Sara excused herself, and for the first time Juna saw a smile on the other girl's face. "I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable. I'm just not used to seeing someone with skin as fair as yours. And then there's that dark mark on your forehead." Sara gestured at the pool around them. "Do you wish to bathe first before changing and going to the village with me?"
Dark mark? Juna would learn shortly that the Drop of Time embedded in her forehead had changed color to a flat, dark indigo, becoming almost black. "Bathing would be a good idea," she decided, warming to the thought. She placed the parcel on the rock she had woken up leaning against and stepped into a deeper part of the pool. After she had sunk into the clear liquid, she tore off the remainder of her aura suit, modestly covering up her private parts with her arms and hands.
Sara looked on as Juna folded her legs to further conceal herself. "Would you mind if I join you?" she asked. "I still haven't finished refreshing myself."
Juna smiled slightly. "If you want to. I'm not so comfortable being the only one without clothes on."
Sara nodded, buried her staff in the sand so it stood upright in the water, then boldly removed her dress. Underneath her raiment she wore nothing. She carefully hung her clothing on the staff. Juna watched as she dove into the pool, swam a couple of laps, and broke the surface near her, eventually adopting the same position as the Avatar and sitting in the water, facing her across a small hollow lined with flat gray rocks.
"Your mind is filled with questions. But answer mine first: who are you, stranger, without your name?" Sara asked. Her water-beaded, slick-haired countenance was now much more friendly than when Juna had first seen it.
"Well..." The Avatar gathered her thoughts and began to talk.
